Industrial Authority already met; what about open meetings law? @ VLCIA 2013-03-08

Wanting to go to the Industrial Authority meeting tonight? Oops, you missed it: they held it 11 days ago. Did you want to speak there? Nope, no Citizens to be Heard on that agenda, and not much else, either.

To find that agenda on VLCIA's website: Home → About Us → Industrial Authority → Meeting Schedule,

There will be a Special Called Meeting of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority on Friday, March 8, 2013, 11:00 am at the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority Offices. This Special Called Meeting will also serve as the Regular March 2013 Meeting.

Agenda (PDF) There will be no meeting on Tuesday, March 19, 2013.

I don't know when they put that on their website, but they announced the same thing on their facebook page on March 4^th. Much of the usual agenda boilerplate is replaced by an executive session, and the agenda doesn't even say for what. I seem to recall the Industrial Authority's attorney on several occasions reminding the Chair that before going into executive session it was necessary to say for what purpose. As the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) puts it:

What is the procedure for going into and holding an "executive session" or "closing a meeting"?

First, the commissioners must go into an open meeting and specify the reason for closing the meeting. A majority of the quorum must vote to close the meeting and the vote must be recorded. After the executive session concludes, the presiding officer must execute an affidavit identifying the reason for closing the meeting and swearing that the meeting was limited to the topics allowed by law. Minutes must also be taken for the closed section of the meeting and kept for in camera inspection.

The permitted topics according to Georgia's open meetings law as amended last year are: confidential tax matters, consultation with attorney about litigation, settlement of lawsuits and claims, or judicial actions, real estate (appraisal, purchase, disposal, or lease), or personnel issues. Which of these did they discuss?

Here is that agenda, such as it is, containing even less than last time, not even including the usual PR and marketing update, existing industry and project report, park update, executive director's report, attorney report, or citizens to be heard. No LAKE videos. Also I don't find any VDT report online. So if you want to know what VLCIA did with your tax dollars, I guess you can file an open records request, and maybe at least find out what the topic of the executive session was.

Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority Agenda/Special Called Meeting
Tuesday, March 8, 2013 11:00 a.m.
Industrial Authority Conference Room
2110 N. Patterson Street

General Business

• Call to Order
• Invocation
• Welcome Guests

Minutes

• Regular Meeting, February 19, 2013

Financial

• Review Compiled Balance Sheet and Income Statements for February 2013

Adjourn General Meeting Into Executive Session

Adjourn Executive Session into General Meeting

Adjourn General Meeting

The Mission of the Valdosta Lowndes County Industrial Authority is to
lead economic development in our community by supporting existing industries
and recruiting industries through capitalizing on opportunities for collaboration.

-jsq

 

Comments

[Jane Osborn]

I guess that transparency is just a "sometimes thing."